With their 22nd release, Culprit unleash their most narratively and sonically rich EP, courtesy of
one of the genre%u2019s unique young voices, jozif. His %u2018Lady B EP%u2019 is a work of intricate conception
that goes well beyond typical dance music themes, instead serving up a personally vivid
and cohesive story. With these five immaculate tracks, Culprit appears closest to fulfilling
their mission statement of delivering music cinematic in its scope, true to their Los Angeles
roots.
%u2018Lady B%u2019 chronicles an intimately personal set of experiences for jozif, reflecting a time and
an emotional place with honesty and verve. Adventurous and offbeat, this is a 5-tracker full
of musical influences all jozif%u2019s own, well in synch with his unique narrative idea. Full of swelling
strings, dramatic piano flourishes, and guitar melodies rarely found elsewhere in modern
house music, this is a fluid sonic journey with mood changes abound.
Side A begins with the upbeat and excited energy of %u2018Lady B%u2019s Tea%u2019, with its forceful yet
organic disco beat and a set of strings producers from the Stax/Philly Sound era would
rejoice for. Although different in mood and feel, the naked soulful urgency of the big piano
chord-driven %u2018Lady B%u2019s Plea%u2019 is nonetheless clearly cut from the same sonic cloth %u2013 all
crescendos and emotional peaks.
The B-side is the quieter, more melancholy counterpart. It begins with the gorgeously
downbeat %u2018Lady B%u2019s Lullaby%u2019 %u2013 an original composition Inspired by the melodic feel of The
Cure. Subtle electronic layers underpin a stunning minor key, disembodied pleading vocal
leads into the second melody, the floating mood sustained throughout. The B-side then
glides into the nearly beat-less soundscape of the %u2018Lady B%u2019s Serenade%u2019, full of raw strings and
guitars, as if the final coda of a short film soundtrack of jozif%u2019s musical mind.
Ever bursting with musical ideas, jozif adds a digital bonus of %u2018Lady B%u2019s Boesen%u2019 %u2013 a hazy and
Aphex Twin-inspired downtempo collage, with a penchant for growling bass and those
keyboard melodies jozif is quickly becoming known for. Few artists are capable to go
through so many moods and textures in one release, whilst staying firmly grounded in
personal and real experiences, away from the usual abstraction and hedonism. Jozif
accomplishes that feat with the superlative %u2018Lady B%u2019. jozif will be a key artist for Culprit in
2012, with another full EP or original, more dancefloor-orientated material coming on the
label this summer.